The Dissimilar Individuality

 

Body of a man Found on NH-R05

 

Daily Article – ATI

An unidentified man was found dead on highway NH-R05 on the outskirts of the city late yesterday night. Highway Patrolmen said the man was around 60-65 years old and appeared to have slashed on throat. Police are further investigating the incident and are trying to see for any connection associated with the 3 murders that have happened in the last 3 months, killed in the same way by slashing.

 

I woke up with a start. Feeling sweaty, I wipe the dripping sweat off my forehead. Glancing around, all I see is darkness. As my eyes slowly adjust, I realize the ground is wet and it is raining heavily outside.

I felt my bones cracking and forcing themselves straightened as I forced to get up. Walking on the wet ground, I fumble on the walls and find a switch of light. The area lightened up in yellow glow and I saw it was a normal outhouse shed, with a thin layer of rough flooring on the ground. There was a door at one corner. Unable to bear the thirst and hunger, I decide to step outside.

In the heavy rains, with great efforts on my eyes, I see a house some distance away. Looking at the muddy path and the rains, I restrained myself from going there, but realizing that I am hungry and thirsty and with nothing to eat in the shed, I walk ahead on the muddy path.

I cautiously put every foot ahead, trying to balance myself on the slippery road. Few steps ahead and I see the house illuminated with a faint glow. Sensing that I’ll get something to eat, I strode towards it faster. As the house came into view, I stop dead in my tracks.

The revelation hit me like a bullet.

Moments of my haunted past flashed through my eyes. The sexual abuse, the physical harassment, the torchers that I had gone through. The burnt marks on my right hand were still fresh, reminding me of the assault I had faced. 

And then I realized my fear. A serial Killer.

It came to me that he is going to kill me. I am in danger.

Horrified, I turn around and run towards the shed. Closing the metal door behind me, I lock it and see a small mobile phone in one corner. I run and pick it up. With shivering hands, I somehow dial the emergency number.

“This is the emergency. How may I…”

“My …my name is Jennifer. M.. My hus.. husband w... wants to kill me …. He.. He... is the... serial.... k... killer..! ”

The operator was silent for a while. “You’re a lady? Ok… I’ve got your location. We’ll soon send someone to assist you …!”

I dropped the mobile down, faintly hearing the operator telling me to keep the phone, in case the patrolling officer may try to contact me.

Recently there was a news that a psychotic serial killer is killing people. Since the last three months, three deaths had occurred, all of them being killed in the same way. I feel it is my husband. He is now killing all those people who had sexually abused me. He thinks I provoked them to do all of it. I then remembered my small son Eric. He usually comes to play here, although I never knew the owners of this house.

Thinking about how to find my dear child, I close my eyes.

 

I woke up again with a start.

Did I blackout? 

I look around and see I am in the same shed. My feet are muddy, with thick soil in between my nails. I recall I had called the emergency number for help.

Suddenly, with a piercing sound, the mobile buzzes. Startled, I look towards it and with shivering hands, press the answer button. 

“Hello…? I am Officer Danny. Is this Jennifer?” in between the static, I hear someone say.

“Yes….!” I replied hurriedly, “I need your help, Officer. There is someone…”

“I understand, Lady…” Danny replied, “From your location, I would request you to please move to the house in front of your shed. There is an old blind couple in the house. Due to bad weather, I’ll send….” The phone went dead.

With no option left, and thinking my son would be in, I decide I should go in the house.

 

As I push open the shed door, a cold gush of wind entered with rainwater. It is raining more heavily now. Leaving the light on, I start walking towards the house. The path is totally muddy, with stones piercing my barefoot.

Walking in heavy rain, fully drenched, as I climb the stone steps to the porch, I saw the name ‘Richard’s’ written on the door. Under my weight, the damp wooden flooring sagged in with a cracking sound. Carefully, I walk till the door and turn the door lock.

It was open.

Entering in, I closed the door and locked it. Inside, it was a bit warm. The sound of rain falling outside is faint now. I was still wondering where my son Eric is.

Looking around, I saw it is a plush house, with moderate interiors.

“Noooo……He’ll kill me…. he…he’s watching me now…He...He’s coming to …to …finish me…!” Suddenly, I hear a scream from the living room. It was the blind Mr. Richard. He is old with shabby clothes and is drooling. I see he is mentally retarded.

“It’s OK, Richard….” I somehow cooled him down. “Po.... Police are c...co...coming to as...assist us... ”

My words were cut short as the mobile rang again.

“Hello? This is Officer Danny…Jennifer …are you inside…? Hello…?”

“Ye…Yess...O…Officer…I can hear you. I’m inside the house now..” I instantly answered back.

“Ok…I would request you to please stay there…. Someone from the police will assist you….!” Saying this, he hung up.

I move around the house searching for food. Crossing the moderately lit Living Room, I enter a neatly arranged open kitchen.

Mr. Richard is still murmuring something in the Living Room. I enter one bedroom, which is dimly lit and see the dressing room mirror broken. Glancing at it and thinking that I’ll change the wet clothes I’m wearing; I open the wardrobe cabinet with my left hand. The door is fixed, so I jerk it open.

Suddenly something huge falls on me.

I shriek and push it aside. In the dimly lit room, I couldn’t see who is it. I ran and flicked the lights on. During that, I see my hands are covered in blood.

As the lights turned on, I starred in horror.

A dead body of an old lady is lying in front of me, her throat slashed and blood all over her cloths.

 

I scream in panic, covering my mouth with blooded hands. Who killed this lady? My mind couldn’t think at all. I scrabble in my pocket for the mobile and hurriedly dial the emergency number.

“Officer Danny….! A.. a... lady has been murdered…!” I scream with all my might on the phone.

Officer Danny paused for a while. “Listen Ma’am, do not touch anything there…not even the body…!” he screamed in between the static, “I’ll arrange someone right away…!” saying this he hung up.

Unexpectedly I hear a loud cry behind. I turn and see Mr. Richard holding the body in his hands and crying.

“He killed my wife….!’ He screams with tears dropping from his eyes. “He Killed my wife…...!”

Suddenly someone banged hard on the main door from outside. At once, I am startled.

“Who’s it…?” I scream from where I am standing.

The banging continued, but no one is answering from the other side.

“Nooo…. it’s…the Killer…. he…he’s coming in to finish me…!” Mr. Richard shouted.

Feeling terrified, I start shivering. I wipe the sweat on my forehead. The banging continued, now so hard that it sounded as if someone is breaking the door.

I knew it has to be my husband. He has come to kill me. 

Finally, the door gave away and it opens.

I hear footsteps approaching on the wooden floor. The person crosses the living room, and walks towards the room where I am.

Mr. Richard continues to panic and scream.

As soon as I see the shadow of the person on the doorway, I black out. I loose my balance and fall down.

 

I opened my eyes.

Did something happen to me? Did I black out?

Unable to understand, I look around and suddenly remember I am in this house with the old man. Remembering the last incident, I sit up on the cold floor. With no sign of Eric and the rainfall outside, I see the old lady’s body still on the floor. And then I remembered the old and blind Mr. Richard who could be moving around in the house. Still thirsty and hungry, I wipe the sweat off my mouth and felt my cracked lips on my hand. Then I recalled…. the cops are still not here.

With trembling hands, as I was about to dial the emergency number, the phone rings. It is from Officer Danny.

“Ma’am…are you ok? I tried calling you more than six times but you didn’t answer…!”

“I…. I b…blacked out…s... somehow….” I answered back.

I get up and walk around talking on phone. As I entered the living room, I said,” I …I ..donno off..officer..but something sounds wrong…” While speaking, as I go near the kitchen, I see it is all mess. All the crockery and cutlery was flung out and utensils scattered.

“Officer….!” I screamed as I walked till the open kitchen platform,” My husband was here…! H... H... He c…created sh…shambles around…please help...” I hear a static and the phone went dead.

The house was silent. Except the voice of the rain, I could hear nothing.

Moving around, I am about to call Mr. Richards when I stumble upon something and fall down.

I look at the floor.

Mr. Richards is lying dead, his throat slashed, blood still oozing out of the cut and spreading on the floor.

All of a sudden, the main door banged closed. Due to the wind, it opened again. I stare in that direction and see something outside on the porch. Still trembling, I get up and walk towards the door. As I push it open, another scene took my breath out.

A person in a cop’s uniform is lying on the porch, his throat slashed open just the same way like the two bodies inside.

Shocked, I almost shriek in terror. Closing the door behind, I ran in the room where I had woke up. The old lady’s body is still there. I find the phone and turn on the display.

The battery indicator is zero. The phone switches off immediately.

All the doors are now closed. My husband, the killer has not only killed the old man, but also the cop who came to save us.

I start feeling hysterical. With no one left to save me and with rain falling, I feel totally isolated and most importantly, in danger.

I start fearing that the killer will come for me. There is nowhere to escape. I couldn’t think of any solution for myself.

My husband is probably present in the house, on the upper levels, waiting to strike on me. I knew his behaviour. He behaved this way even when we were together. Including all the people whom he had killed, he used to harass me too. I now presume he has my son. He must have blindfolded him and kept his mouth shut. 

I start trembling with fear. There is no place to run, nor to hide.

I am panicked. I can’t bear the thoughts of terror.

I never wanted to die in the hands of my husband. I want to fight him, but there is no energy left inside me. I have totally given up on myself. 

Finally, I decide something…To finish myself. My husband is way too powerful. He can find me at any instance. There’s no one to save me, and I can’t fight him. I've given up on my son, who will also be killed by my husband. 

Feeling totally lost and depressed, I gave up.

I remembered the knife in the kitchen.

Using it, with tears in my eyes, I remembered how I had raised my son, Eric, how I had always tried to save him from those sex maniacs, how my son was beaten badly by my Husband …. everything flashed in front of me.

With my left hand, I slash my right-hand wrists. Blood spurts out like a fountain and slowly the outer noise of the rainfall becomes more and more faint as gradually I loose my consciousness.

 

Slowly, I open my eyes. Looking around, I see white and green curtains. Faintly, I hear the familiar beeping of the machinery near my head. I look around and see syringes pierced in my hand, my legs. I look on the wall behind me and see light outside the window. It is still raining, but not much.

I then recollect the house, the old man, the old lady and my husband. I remember myself slashing with a sharp knife. Looking at my wrist, I see they are bandaged.

How many days had I passed out? Where am I? Who brought me here?

 

The curtains brush aside and a nurse enters. As soon as she sees me, she runs outside. Still trying to regain consciousness, I hear heavy footsteps approaching,

Two officers come near my bed. Both of them are staring at me with folders in their hands.

“Are you feeling OK now?” one of the officers asked.

Without waiting for my answer, one of the officers opens his file.

“You said your name was Jennifer Devine, right? What were you doing at the house last night?” The officer asked.

“I…I…had gone th..there to sea…search for my son..! My husband has him...!"

 

Abruptly a doctor in white coat entered and came near me and asked, “How you doing…are you OK?”

The officer asked, “You know Dr. Norman Fletcher?”

I had never seen him in my life.

“You said a killer was stalking you in the house, right? You said you had gone to search for your son...?” The officer asked.

“Y…Yess…. D…did you f…find the…the killer? I told you m... my hu.... husband is.... th... the.... killer...!” I asked hastily. “Di…did you find...m…my s..son...?”

"May I know the name of your Husband please?" the officer asked me. 

I am stunned. What's my husband's name? 

"Do you remember him?" the officer asked me, again. 

I started rubbing my fingers vigorously. I tried remembering my husband’s name, but nothing came in my mind.

Who’s my husband?

“There was no other person in the house.” The officer replied calmly, “No one was stalking you. No one wanted to kill you.”

“Th…. then wh…who k…killed …. the…the old man?”

“You killed them….!” The officer said at once. “You killed the old man and the old lady. In fact, since the past three months, you have killed three other people in the same way. We were searching hard for you and were trying to understand your killing pattern. You killed all three of them exactly on the last day of the month. Co-incidentally, yesterday was the last day of the month.”

The officer then opened his folder and asked me, “Where do you work?”

“I…I do….not work. I…I…I am still trying to…to find a se….s….secure job…” I replied back.

The officer then opened a small file and said, “All the five people that you’ve killed are members of the corporate club where you work as an accountant. You had visited all five of them. You wanted them to be a member of your club, so that you can track their daily lifestyles. When we investigated the killings, we came to know you are a common factor. Your visiting cards were present with everyone of them, and everyone had always contacted you. We then went to your past and came to know about you…”

I couldn’t believe what the officer was saying. I killed these people?

“The first five people, Laurel, Michael, Joseph, Mr and Mrs. Richards were good friends and they had sexually abused you when you were a kid. You were working as a worker with your mom at Mr. Richard’s place. You continued working with them for some years. Mr. Richards and his wife also had taken advantage of you and harassed you. Mr Richard eventually shifted to this new house. To be more honest, the husband that you were speaking of, never existed. One of these five people had raped you. You killed all five of them to avenge all the things that had happened to you…!” The officer’s words hit like a bullet to me.

“Actually, you hadn’t killed…the third one inside you killed them….!” Saying this, he placed a mirror in front of me.

The reflection in the mirror is of a man, with thin and slender hands, with small amounts of beard on his face.

“You’re not Jennifer, but your name is Eric. You’re suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) since the past couple of years. You’re on Dr. Norman Fletcher’s medication. One single person can have multiple identities at the same time. One identity can think it has high cholesterol, the other may not. One identity can be allergic to bee stings, the other can be not. One identity can be a Russian Weightlifter. One can be a magician. These identities have two different IQs. Two different behaviors. You adopted your mother’s, Jennifer’s personality, the way she used to talk, walk and write. Eric, you are right-handed, but right now, since you are displaying your mother’s personality, that’s the reason you are left-handed. Remember, one of those five people had injured your mother's right hand...

“Eric…” Dr. Fletcher continued, “You have a third personality, the killer one. You are the Serial Killer….! You always wanted to avenge all that had happened to your mother when you were a child. The mental trauma you received as a kid created these personalities inside you…! You had gone to the house to kill Mr and Mrs. Richards. However, you second personality, your mother was also alive inside you. The blackouts you received were happening because the killer personality was trying to wake up continuously, as its main aim was to kill both Mr. and Mrs Richards. All the drama in the house, the kitchen furniture messing, you getting locked in the shed, was done by your killer's personality. Mr. Richards received his own karma and lost his mind. But the killer personality inside you always wanted revenge and that’s what it did.”

 

As the doctor showed me my identity card, displaying my name as Eric Devine, and displaying me as an accountant, I started breathing hard. My eyelashes blinked rapidly as my true identity came in front of me. Slowly losing my consciousness, I blacked out.

 

Eric Devine was then prosecuted in the court. During his trails, all his three separate personalities were displayed. All three couldn’t remember what the previous ones had said or did. After a long battle, with no proper evidence, Eric was finally declared as a mental patient and was taken to a mental asylum. However, as time went on, Eric developed four more different personalities inside him, but he totally adopted his mother’s personality as his own and considered himself a lady.

 

THE END